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An element in the ground state has exactly 12 electrons in various p orbitals and no unpaired electrons. What are the possible identities for this element?

User Dingo
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

The element with 12 electrons in p orbitals and no unpaired electrons is argon (Ar), which has the electron configuration of 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6.

Step-by-step explanation:

To identify the element with exactly 12 electrons in various p orbitals and no unpaired electrons, we should look to their electron configurations.

Starting with the first p orbital at 2p, we can accommodate a total of 6 electrons (3 pairs), filling the 2p subshell completely. Moving to the next p orbital at 3p, to have exactly 12 electrons in p orbitals, we would need to fill this subshell as well, which also holds 6 electrons (3 pairs).

Thus, the electron configuration for an element with 12 electrons in p orbitals would end with 3p6. This indicates that the element is one period below neon, and with all p orbitals filled, it would be a noble gas.

Therefore, the element in question is likely argon (Ar), which has the electron configuration 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6.

User Krauss
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